Spiral
by Kudra23
Summary: What would've happened if Rachel had learned from her mistakes, and let her instincts guide her more during BMS?  Something as simple as deciding where to place her trust can completely alter the course of things.  Rachel/Al
1. Wakeup Call

_This story starts in the middle of Black Magic Sanction, right after the Pandora Charm debacle and the fight with Vivian. From here on out, the story does not follow cannon. I've read Pale Demon (and I LOVED it), but I'm not sure whether I'll be incorporating elements of that story into this one yet. The pairing is Rachel/Al._

I stared warily at Pierce. I wasn't sure how this whole scene would have played out if Pierce hadn't been here. First, he'd saved me from the bad Pandora Charm, and then he'd helped protect us all from Vivian. I would always feel grateful to him for saving Ivy, and that left a bad taste in my mouth. Like Brimstone. A year ago, such behavior, paired with his devil-may-care attitude, would've had me drooling in my raspberry latte. He was one hundred percent Rachel Candy. But, I just couldn't live that way anymore. I wouldn't survive such a naïve outlook; and more importantly, the people I loved that had _earned_ my trust wouldn't survive it either. And there was the rub. It bothered me down to my smut-covered soul to feel indebted to someone that I didn't trust.

Was it Kistin's death that made it easier for me to see Pierce clearly? Or was it Pierce himself that was different? I'd feared Kistin once, too, but that was before I got to know him. Kistin's danger-factor came from what he was, a vampire; something he had no control over. With Pierce it was the opposite. His danger-factor came from the choices he made. The more I knew about Pierce, the _more_ _cautious_ I became. It wasn't like that with Kistin. He trusted me to be able to make my own decisions and fight my own battles, but he always had my back. Despite Pierce's obvious power and magical prowess, I couldn't imagine ever being able to trust him on that level. He might want to protect me for whatever misguided reason, but there was a difference between that and truly having my best interests in mind like my partners do.

I locked gazes with Ivy and then Jenks. Ivy had determined that she only had a hairline fracture in her arm, so we had wrapped it up tightly and put it in a sling from our medical kit. We were very prepared for emergencies around here. She raided her stash of heavy duty painkillers, and was currently munching a brimstone cookie. I knew better than to push.

"The last thing I want to do is leave the church," I said softly, "but something has to change. This isn't a fair fight. I can't let you two die fighting this hopeless war just because I can't own up to what I really am."

Ivy looked torn in that special, heart-breaking way she has when she wants to touch me and show her support but her damned instincts won't allow it. "Rachel," she said softly, and I smiled gently at her.

"We're not strong enough to fight off the Coven ourselves," I told her, needing her to realize how true it was. They'd obliterate our haven and everyone in it. I didn't have the pull among witches that Ivy did among vamps to keep them off our backs. Especially once the witch community started seeing evidence of me dealing with demons. Shunning was a powerful enough sentence that no one, of _any_ species, would fight it, and there was no coming back from it. My guess was, even Rynn Cormel would revoke his dubious protection once the Coven put the pressure on. No one had ever been un-shunned. Or de-shunned? Whatever.

"Tink's titties, Rache! We held off all of those I.S. assassins, we can hold off the Coven," Jenks protested, wings going red with anger.

I looked at Ivy, and her head drooped in defeat as she remembered how quickly she'd been taken out of the fight by Vivian. "That was just _one_ Coven member," I continued, turning my attention back to Jenks. "I'm not strong enough to fight them, especially if they team up. If Pierce hadn't been here, Ivy would be undead and I would be missing an ovary by now."

Jenks rose to eye level and glared at me. "But this is our territory, Rache. We have a better chance of defeating our enemies on our own turf."

I sighed. "This isn't like fighting fairies, Jenks. I'm not saying you aren't capable of protecting your land; I'm saying there are some things that even pixies shouldn't be expected to fight. Even _you_ wouldn't stand in the way of a tornado. And that's what the Coven is: a force of nature." I struggled to gather my thoughts and work out how to impress the seriousness of this situation. "This is _worse_ than me being under an I.S. death threat."

The pixy arched a brow at me in disbelief.

"You want proof?" I asked, annoyed. "How about the fact that the Coven is the only group powerful enough to make the I.S. _and_ the F.I.B. stand down, no questions asked. How about the fact that the Coven has the power to turn an entire nation, Inderlander and human, against a witch solely on its whim? Or the fact that even top-of-the-food-chain, undead vamps won't get in their way."

Glen met my eyes, asking for permission to weigh-in. I nodded. "You're probably right," he began mildly. "But for those same reasons, running won't work either."

"I know," I agreed.

"I opine I can keep you safe on the lam, Mistress Witch," Pierce interjected, looking supremely put-out that we'd been talking around him.

I glared at him, annoyed. "This conversation is between me and the people that I trust."

Ivy and Jenks grinned and looked proud, while Pierce turned the full force of his gaze on me. "I'm here for your protection, Mistress Witch. Saved your friend, did I not? What have I done to earn such mistrust?"

"You're playing with a demon," I pointed out.

Pierce looked affronted. "I swan I was in a fix. I only agreed to deal with that second-rate curser to be near you."

I just stared at him.

"You yourself are in a fix with a demon, Mistress Witch," he added petulantly.

I growled. "There's a difference between being "in a fix" with a demon and flat-out _playing_ with one, like you're doing."

"That hack can't bind me, though he might own me," Pierce replied, "and I allow it for _you_. I opine I keep you safer during your sojourn in the ever-after."

I cocked a hip and flipped my hair to ease some of my rising tension. "_You_ keep me safer?" I hissed indignantly. "You're the most unsafe part of being there!"

He scowled. "You're right fixed if you think you're safer with that demon spawn than me."

"I _am_ safer with Al than with you," I said quietly, voice going low and fierce. Ivy and Jenks both stiffened, knowing that when I stopped yelling that's when I was _really_ steamed. "You're the one that ignored Al's orders and left me alone so you could impress me with your ability to escape his bonds. Never mind that Al might blame _me_ for freeing you. You left me alone in Al's creepy workroom, in the freaking dark, which led directly to me screwing up the spell I was working on and being possessed by that skanky, evil soul. I had to do some weird Vulcan mind-meld with Al so he could drive it out."

"You'll not have to deal with that beast for long, Mistress Witch," Pierce said solemnly. Clearly he'd missed the point.

I clenched my fists tightly, trying to rein in the urge to smash his conceited nose in. Diverting my eyes to my friends, I noticed that they seemed willing to let me work this out myself. Ivy was tense, pupils dilated, but she seemed OK. I knew we really didn't have time for this, but I felt that the Pierce situation was far too combustible to continue the way it was.


	2. Rachel Pokes Pierce With A Stick

_Disclaimer: I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest. _

"You don't get it," I told Pierce. "Al and I have finally found a relatively stable working relationship that keeps me and my loved ones safe, and you are making it unstable with your blatant attempts to get in my pants and your ridiculous delusion that you can best him."

"Why do you think I'm so skilled with black magic?" Pierce demanded belligerently. "I was a demon hunter in my day."

I snorted. "Did you ever actually kill one?"

Pierce nodded eagerly.

"I don't mean _surface demons_," I said scathingly. He winced. "I mean, upper level demons, the real deal."

"There's a difference?" Ivy asked curiously, seeming a bit off kilter at having no reference for anything involving the ever-after. She was used to being knowledge-girl.

I nodded. "Surface demons are mostly savage animals with no real sense of intellect left. They don't have thousands of years of built up curses like upper level demons do, either. They're still freaking scary as hell, especially when they pack up to hunt prey. But they're much more vulnerable than pure demons." I looked at Pierce. "There's no way in Tink's contractual hell that you killed a _real_ demon."

"No," he admitted. "The Coven betrayed me before I could get that far in my endeavors." He met gaze. "But I can end foul Algaliarept," he promised darkly. "I will keep you safe from him."

I took a step back. "Don't you get it?" I shouted. "You're the one that's going to get me killed. I don't _want_ Al dead."

Pierce stared at me as though he'd never seen me before. "I swan, Mistress Witch, I cannot believe you mean that."

"And I cannot believe that you are so arrogant and naïve that you think killing Al would solve my problems." I stopped to take a deep breath. "He's not the only demon that wants me. I am damned lucky that I met Al first and made a deal with him instead of one of the others. Freaking _Newt_, for example, who orchestrated that whole 'evil soul' debacle because she doesn't care who's riding my body and using my magic as long as it's someone she can control."

Even Ivy and Jenks looked surprised, and I realized that they'd never actually been there for most of my interactions with demons. They didn't know what a hot ticket I was in the ever-after, and how hard Al worked to keep me. I, myself, willfully ignored this knowledge most of the time so I could pretend that I was still a witch. That had to end now.

"That doesn't mean you should put all your faith in that foul beast," Pierce snapped. "If you'd but allow it, I could hide you from _all _of them."

I sighed. "I never said I put all my faith in Al. He gets exactly as much faith as he earns, and I never forget for a second what he is. But I also know how much worse it could be. I've earned enough respect from him to negotiate." I looked straight into Pierce's blue eyes. "Every time you so much as fantasize about plotting against him, you risk my life and the life of everyone I love. He's a demon, and if he thinks I'm helping you, he'll retaliate."

Pierce drew himself up proudly. "I cannot allow you to remain in such an untenable situation, Mistress Witch." Then, he had the audacity to wink at me. "Don't you tarry on it, I'll sort something out."

I stared at him, incredulous. I couldn't stop a burst of hysterical laughter from escaping. I turned to my friends. "This guy's crazier than Newt," I whispered loudly, making no attempt to keep Pierce from hearing me.

Jenks snorted. "The cookie spent a few too many decades on unconsecrated ground, Rache."

"So what's your plan, then?" Glen asked helpfully, making a concerted effort to ignore Pierce completely.

"The Coven isn't screwing around. They're gunning for me, and they don't care who they destroy along the way." I began pacing; I was so angry and frustrated. "They stand in their high moral towers and hold it over the rest of us that they aren't black witches and they have no smut on their auras. But they're a bunch of hypocrites! They torture and kill people with their white spells and magically hobble them in the most gruesome ways." I paused, shivering as I remembered Alcatraz.

My friends kept their silence for the moment, waiting for me to work through the issue. I think, based on the looks they kept giving each other, they were realizing just how much they didn't know about the portion of my life that took place in the ever-after. I looked at the clock, relieved that there were still plenty of hours before dawn. What does that say about me that I'm _happy_ that the sun is down so demons can travel the lines? Well, just my demon, really. And boy, would he be pissed if he heard me refer to him as mine, even in my own head.

I looked at Ivy, Jenks and Glen. "I need to talk to Al," I said. I went to the counter and started digging through the chaos to find my calling circle. Then, I headed to the front hall to find a pair of shoes.

"Where are you going?" Ivy asked. "Why not just talk to him from here?"

I sighed. "I'm asking him to come over. This might take a while."

Ivy looked at Jenks and they had a conversation with their eyes, culminating with Jenks nodding and saying, "Just call him in here, Rache."

"That's a powerful bad idea, Mistress Witch," Pierce interrupted. "You shouldn't give that filth reason to cross the lines."

I ignored him, carefully watching Ivy and Jenks, who were still having their silent conversation. I could tell they were berating themselves for allowing me to keep my interactions with Al mostly separate from them. It was just easier to talk to Al outside where I wouldn't have to worry about him torching anymore of my books or causing trouble with Ivy and Jenks. I trusted him not to hurt them so long as they didn't provoke him, after which all bets were off. But I wasn't sure I could trust Ivy and Jenks _not_ to provoke him. Seriously, since when did I become the diplomatic one? Must've been three or four demon deals ago.

"Fine," I agreed. "I'll call him in here." Since we were a team, this next decision had to include all of us. I set my calling circle on the counter and turned to Pierce. "You will be quiet and not interfere in any way," I ordered grimly. I might not be proficient in black magic like he was, but I could work demon magic. Demon magic trumps all. It was about time I got over it.

"And what will you do if I don't, Mistress Witch?" he demanded, having the nerve to look completely unimpressed.

Quick as a whip, I darted a hand behind me to grab the finger stick on my counter. I lunged forward and stuck it into his forearm, coming away with a drop of his blood inside the tiny tube. Taking in Pierce's shocked expression, I grinned harshly. "I'll invoke a little curse I know that will boil your blood." I completed the insult by turning my back on him. "Now sit down and shut up."

Jenks literally fell off the counter laughing as Pierce backed as far away from me as he could and sat down. Glen looked wary and concerned, while Ivy watched me with that careful way she had whenever I flexed my magical prowess. She met my eyes, silently assessing how serious I was about the threat I'd made. I nodded slightly and she got the message: I was dead serious about it. I was done making bluffs that I didn't intend to carry out to keep our butts above the ground.


	3. Curse of the Cookie Maker

1_Disclaimer: I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest. _

I touched my calling circle and was about to reach out to Al when Jenks flew up to hover in my face.

"For the love of Tink, Rache, you forgot to set a circle!" he exclaimed.

I looked at him, then Ivy and Glen. "I don't summon Al into a circle anymore. I call him and ask him to come over."

"So there's no compulsion on him?" Ivy asked.

"No," I replied. "I'm not using his name to force him to come here trapped under a geas. I'm just using the calling circle like a trans-reality phone." I paused. "Although, given that _demons_ created it, it's a bit more complex than that."

"How so?" Glen asked, since Ivy and Jenks were still having silent coronaries over yet another example of how much they didn't know about the demonic aspects of my life.

I smiled at him, thanking him with my eyes for staying levelheaded and providing all of us, and especially Ivy, with his steady, calming hand. Glen had earned my admiration early on with his willingness to walk amongst predators, but I was always worried that one day he'd reach his Weird threshold. That his ability to accept the innate differences between us was due to the fact that Ivy and I were not your typical Inderlanders, and we wasted a lot of time denying our true natures and trying to live by human laws and morals. I was also worried about him. The F.I.B. wasn't strong enough to protect him, especially if he took a stand with me against the Coven. If it were up to me, I'd have kept him out of this mess, but given his relationship with Ivy, that was her decision to make.

"Talking through the mirror is more like mind-to-mind contact," I explained. "You can mentally put a circle around your thoughts to keep them private, but you still get a sense of the other person." I paused. "It's hard to describe. For example, when I'm talking to Al, I get glimpses of his emotions about whatever he happens to be doing at that moment." I looked at them. "Do you want me to put you in a circle?" I asked. "I trust Al not to break our agreement and kill you, but if you piss him off, he won't hesitate to hurt you." I met Ivy's eyes, letting her see the concern I felt over the trouble her vamp instincts could get her into. If Al's behavior or the stress of the situation got to her, she might lose it and try to fight him.

She shook her head, cradling her injured arm. "It'll be worse if I feel trapped like that," she said softly.

"OK," I agreed, taking note that she was sitting within the scribed circle I usually use for spellwork, and it would be easy enough to raise it in a pinch if I had to. I grabbed my stick of magnetic chalk and stuck in my pocket, just in case. Then I touched the calling circle again. "Al?" I said aloud, so my friends could hear my side of the conversation.

_"Yes, itchy-witch?"_ he replied, sounding bothered. He probably thought I was going to whine to him again about switching summoning names back. Things had escalated severely since then.

"Are you busy right now?" I asked. "I really need to talk to you… in person."

_"Is this about our summoning names?"_ he snapped, _"because switching back will not solve your problem with the Coven for Moral and Ethical Standards."_

"I know," I said softly, chagrined, and I could feel Al's interest perk up. I didn't often admit he was right, after all, or apologize for my thoughtless blunders as his student.

_"I'm coming over,"_ he said, and the connection snapped shut.

An instant later, I felt the drop in the line out back as Al crossed over. He appeared in his British guise, but he hadn't bothered with the smoky lenses, which was the first sign that he was worried about something. Usually Al kept his eyes hidden in public. At first, I had thought it was so he could move around on this side of the lines, but recently I realized that he kept them covered to protect himself. Somewhere along the way, I had become accustomed to their alien appearance, and they didn't instill me with that instinctual, gut-wrenching fear anymore. That was when I began to notice how expressive his eyes were, in the rare moments that he let me see them directly. He took in the situation at a glance, and I could see the hint of surprise on his face that I had called him from my kitchen. His clever eyes measured the destruction in the church and then met mine.

"The Coven?" he asked.

I nodded and glanced at Pierce, who refused to meet my eyes. Al stared at him, obviously wondering why the normally vocal black witch wasn't speaking. "Apparently Vivian is their plumber," I added.

Al, shockingly enough, didn't make any of his usual jokes or innuendos. He didn't even make note of the presence of Ivy, Jenks and Glen. The last time I'd seen him this serious was when we'd been in the midst of pulling a miracle out of our asses and convincing Dali and Newt that I was Al's student. He turned to face me then, looking me up and down with dark suspicion in his eyes. He stepped closer and seemed to sniff me.

"Tell me, student," he murmured dangerously. "Why did you think it a good idea to play with a Pandora Charm in the middle of a crisis?"

I cringed. "I needed to know whether I could trust Trent."

Al glowered at me. "Did it not occur to you that your demon instructor, who spent several millennia at war with the elves, _might_ just be able to help you sniff out misaligned elf magic before willingly using one of their charms?" he asked tightly.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, and the clear contrition in my voice was enough to mollify him slightly, and shock our audience. Despite my protestations, for the most part I enjoyed my lessons with Al. But, I'd worked so hard to keep the two parts of my life separate, as though I could be a demon on one side of the lines and a witch on the other, and it wasn't until the Coven attacked that I realized my methods were causing more harm than good.

"How am I meant to keep you breathing, and out of Newt's kitchen, if you don't use your head?" he asked, frustrated, and then seemed to visibly rein himself in. "Well, you are young," he murmured, so quietly I almost didn't hear it. He'd been doing that a lot lately; holding back and making odd comments about my youth, ever since the soul possession incident. He held out a hand toward my face. "May I?" he requested.

I glanced at my friends, who were quietly watching us with a strange mix of emotions in their eyes that I couldn't interpret. Turning my attention back to Al, I nodded. As he reached for my face, his glove disappeared, and I realized why he'd asked permission. Demons are pure energy, and any form of real physical connection, like skin-to-skin, linked the two involved. It's why Al wore gloves all the time, and why he'd been able to pull off that mind-melding trick he'd done to evict the soul that tried to set up house in my body. Al's warm, callused hand rested over my temple and he locked eyes with me. Was it wrong that I suddenly felt safer?

Al, of course, felt that emotion and chuckled at me. Then, he concentrated, and I could feel him slipping deeper inside. It felt strange, but not horribly intrusive like the time Newt tried to possess me. "There are traces of the misaligned spell in there," he said quietly.

I shuddered, remembering the horrifying feeling of not being able to breathe. "Can it still be triggered by a specific memory?"

"Yes," the demon replied. "My esteemed familiar, it seems, broke the connection temporarily by flooding you with line energy but the spell is still intact. Next time you want to muck around with elf magic, student, please have a responsible adult around?"

Instead of feeling insulted, I smiled in relief. He wouldn't be joking around if he couldn't fix it. "Yes, Professor Al," I replied cheekily.

Al mumbled something about impertinent demon spawn as he focused on digging out the volatile elf magic. I could feel it, tingling and burning, and it tasted like burnt leaves on my tongue. Finally, he nodded briskly and stepped back, glove reappearing on his hand as he did so. "Now then, where's the list?" He made a great show of fixing his cuffs and looking around.

"List?" I asked, bemused.

Al nodded faux-patiently. "I know you, itchy- witch. You invited me here, right into your sanctum, no less. I just know you've got a whole list of impossible demands for me." He looked to our audience and grinned malevolently. "From the very first time she circled me, she was never very shy about asking for things."

Glen shivered and wrapped his arm more tightly around Ivy. I stood still and calm, refusing to be intimidated by the air of menace surrounding Al. It was actually more comforting than scary. Al and I at odds caused mass chaos on both sides of the lines and nearly ended with our mutual destruction. But, Al and I working toward the same goal? That would be chaos for anyone that got in our way. Red, goat-slitted eyes met mine, and I swear he knew what I was thinking, because he grinned devilishly and nodded in agreement.


	4. Whatever Will Bewilder Me

1_Disclaimer: I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest. _

"No list," I said. "I want to discuss our current arrangement in light of recent events."

"Do tell," Al purred, hopping lithely up to sit on my spelling counter. Then his eyes fell on Pierce again, huddled in his corner of the kitchen. "Familiar," he demanded, "why are you cowering? I haven't beaten you up yet today."

Pierce turned from Al to me, and his glower intensified. "Ask your _student_."

"Student?" Al inquired archly. "What have you done to Gordion Nathaniel Pierce? It's been five whole minutes without a single '_I swan_.' It's a bloody miracle."

Jenks snorted.

Grimacing, I held up the finger stick with Pierce's blood in it. Al's eyes widened at the implications. "I might've threatened him with invoking a curse to boil his blood if he didn't sit down and shut up," I muttered.

Al burst out laughing. "The one we use to heat tea?"

I smirked. "No. The one that works on _living things_." I sneered at Pierce. "Remember that, cookie. Just two little words and your blood will burn."

My friends stared at me as though they'd never seen me before. Al's eyes narrowed and he looked more closely at me. "What's this then, Rachel?" he asked.

I frowned. He only called me Rachel when he was really concerned about something. Using given names amongst demons was a tricky thing; they had so much power running through them that even something as simple as this could forge a connection. Calling me by my full name was how he asserted his power, calling me by a myriad of nicknames was how he kept his distance, and calling me by my chosen moniker was personal and intimate in a way I couldn't really describe, but _felt_, instinctively.

"Pierce wants to kill you, Al," I said, trying to explain why I was feeling so unbalanced.

Al grinned. "Lots of people want to kill me, dove," he replied lightly.

I shook my head, glancing nervously at the witch in question in case he decided to interfere. I glanced at my friends, and they all nodded, despite their concern for my behavior, letting me know they had my back.

"He actually thinks he _can_," I said. "And he won't stop trying. I've tried to reason with him and convince him that our arrangement is the safest way to keep the demon world satisfied, but he's got this freaking hero complex, and he's pegged me as the damsel in distress. Logic just rolls right off him; it's like talking to Newt." As one, we turned our heads to glare at Pierce.

"Wow, that's creepy," I heard Glen mutter.

"And you don't want me dead, itchy-witch?" Al asked, eyes still trained on his familiar.

"Of course not," I said instantly. "You being dead wouldn't solve anything. In fact, it'd make things a million times worse."

"You say the sweetest things," he drawled.

"Oh please, up until our Russian roulette maneuver in the ever-after, we _both_ wanted each other dead," I replied.

Al smirked. "Not true. Most days I wanted you chained up in my kitchen."

"And now I'm in your kitchen willingly and you let me stay on this side of the lines, willingly," I summed up. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "We've gone soft."

He nodded. "Well, we demons are known for our dramatics." I winced, knowing he was purposefully including me in that statement. And boy did it explain a lot, when I thought about it. He straightened up; good humor fading, and watched me warily. "Why did you invite me here, into your safe place, with your friends as witnesses?"

I sighed. "I'm in this mess because I wasn't taking any of it seriously. I wanted to be able to play demon with you on my days in the ever-after, and pretend I'm a still a witch the rest of the time."

"What do you mean?" Ivy asked, caught up in my choice of words and the implication that there was more at stake than just being able to kindle demon magic.

"It's not just about having a rare ability. My relationship with magic has been changing," I said. "Demon magic feels natural now, like breathing, and I'm so attuned to my ley line that I feel possessive of it. I can be summoned like a demon, and I'm integrated into their system so well that I was able to _successfully_ exchange names with one. My blood won't even kindle high earth magic anymore." I looked at Al. "That's why you tricked me into working with souls, isn't it?" I asked.

He chuckled, completely unrepentant. "I needed to know the breadth of your abilities."

I glared.

"I realize how piqued you are at my dishonesty, student," he drawled, finding my ire humorous, "but there was a real question to be answered that day."

"What question?" I demanded, instantly filled with trepidation.

"See?" he asked. "That attitude right there is why I didn't plan on telling you until after you worked the curse. It was high demon magic, and if I explained what that meant, you would've bollixed it up and hurt yourself, not to mention the potential damage to my lovely kitchen. You can't work high magic whilst in the midst of an identity crisis." He met my eyes, suddenly looking… nervous?

"Damn it, Al, tell me what's going on!" I snapped.

I stepped right up into his face, too overwhelmed to care just how dangerous it is to cross a demon's personal boundaries without permission. I wrapped my hands around his lapels and growled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both Ivy and Pierce stand, looking ready to step in.

"Rachel," Ivy called softly, velvety voice both soothing and warning.

I felt like I was falling apart, that this was going to be just one revelation too many; the straw that broke the proto-demon's back. I almost didn't want to know. The terror and rage were overpowering, and I felt myself instinctively tap a line.

Jenks, who could see auras, buzzed around Ivy's head, mumbling, "Damn it, Ivy, do something. She's going into shock. I'm too small."

I could feel the energy from the line whipping through me like an old friend, and I let it. It started to spool automatically, and my lips quirked upward, happy that I was worthy of it. I let it continue, filling me up with more line energy than I'd ever held before. It was heady and comforting. In the background, I saw Pierce step aggressively toward us.

"Step away from the demon, Mistress Witch," he commanded. "I'll protect you."

I whipped my head around, all thoughts of peace gone. He flinched at the sight of my face, and I heard Glen gasp quietly. "I told you to _shut up_," I hissed.

"Tink's titties, her eyes are glowing," Jenks said. He flew up to hover between me and Pierce. "Get away from her, cookie, or I'll pix you so bad your kids will itch."

Pierce ignored him and reached out to grab my arm. "Get behind me and I'll send that curser back to the ever-after."

I pulled my hands away from Al and turned around fully to face Pierce, so infuriated that I couldn't think straight. "I warned you," I said lowly, voice resonating with the power whipping through me. I took a step forward and pulled the finger stick with his blood out of my pocket. "Celero -"

Al stepped up behind me, pressing his body against my back, and covered my mouth with his hand, blocking my curse. "Be nice, itchy-witch," he said with deliberate lightness. "Newt will decimate us both if we kill her babysitter without permission."

"Bastard," I hissed, feeling the energy from the half-formed curse raging through me. I opened my mouth to sink my teeth into his flesh, but Al pulled his hand away, and turned me around to face him.

Tilting my head up and forcing me to meet his red eyes, he growled, "Naughty student. Don't make me punish you." There was painful promise in his gaze, and rather than frighten me, it made me feel calmer. Eyes still locked with mine, he waved a hand carelessly and tossed the approaching Pierce into the wall. "Don't think your status as Newt's lackey will keep you safe, familiar," he warned. "She doesn't much care whether those in her service are…_ fully intact_."


	5. This Changes Everything

1_Disclaimer: I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest. _

Jenks flew closer to us, staying carefully out of snatching distance, and whispered, "Ivy's gonna lose it soon, Rache."

"That will mean little if our itchy-witch loses it first," Al muttered. "She's spooled enough line energy to take out Cincinnati."

Jenks cursed colorfully, wings turning black with fear. "How can I help?" he asked.

"Keep Gordion Nathaniel Pierce occupied," the demon said.

Jenks snorted. "Gladly." He dropped to the ground and grabbed a shard of glass from the fight with Vivian and buzzed over to Pierce, who'd just started moving again after his collision with the wall. "Don't even think about it, cookie," Jenks yelled. There was a telltale glow of pixy dust settling over Pierce's body.

Al, who still held me trapped in his gaze, murmured, "I'm going to circle us, dove."

I nodded my understanding, and a bubble of ever-after popped into being around us, leaving my friends and Pierce outside. I could hear Glen whispering quietly to Ivy to calm her down and Jenks threatening Pierce. Then, they all fell silent as they turned to watch us. I could feel the buzzing glow of power and for the first time I was aware of just how much of it I'd pulled in. I felt a rush of gratitude that Al was here, and pulling out all the stops to rein me in. The last time I had a panic attack, I'd almost destroyed the church, and I didn't even have line energy spooled in my head that day. Not to mention that I'd nearly killed Pierce in a fit of rage, not five minutes ago. I felt a sudden wash of fear. This time, it was _me_ I was afraid of.

"Al?" I whispered.

He stepped closer, deliberately making his movements slow as he raised his hands to my face. The gloves disappeared and his warm skin touched mine, buzzing with power between us. "Let me in, Rachel," he said, red eyes still locked on mine. I relaxed and let him inside again, feeling the wind from the ever-after whipping around us. He slowly began to funnel line energy from me, spindling it in his own mind, and then sending it back to the ley line. I felt my blood pressure slowly drop as the destructive potential oozed away.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I asked, voice hoarse.

Al kept our eyes locked, using the sheer weight of his power to keep me still and calm. I realized vaguely that it wasn't just his power that made this work; I'd never allow myself to stand so open and vulnerable before Minias, or, god-forbid, _Newt_. It was because on some level I trusted Al, at least when it came to keeping his asset safe. We sort of depended on each other to retain the current status quo.

"When demons work high magic," he explained, "it resets their biological clock. I needed to know whether it was just your magic changing, or if your internal structure was changing, too." He paused. "If your body started to function like a demon's, that would mean you process curses like we do, and..." he trailed off.

I forced a breath in and out. "And I stop truly aging," I finished, putting the pieces together.

"You kindled high demon magic, Rachel," he said evenly. "The spell went awry because the parts got mixed together wrong, but your blood invoked it."

Thanks to Al's super-trance, my only response to this life-shattering revelation was, "Well, shit." I could feel my friends moving as close to the circle as they could get.

"Don't worry, Rache," Jenks said. "We loved your crazy ass before, and we'll still love your crazy ass now."

Feeling my control return completely, Al freed me from his gaze and dropped the circle. I turned to face my friends, and Ivy reached out and rested a hand on my arm briefly before pulling away and retreating to her seat. I met her eyes and she smiled. "We were already a church full of freaks," she said, gray silk voice roughened with concern. "Nothing's changed."

I turned back to Al to find him watching me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Why am I here, student?" he asked again, the level of command in his voice leaving no room for argument.

"I'm changing, and you're the only one I trust that's powerful enough to rein me in and teach me what I need to know," I replied. His red eyes flared at the word _trust_, and I continued warily. "Our arrangement has linked our fortunes together, whether we like it or not."

"We _do_ seem to fair far better when we're on the same side," he agreed.

I chuckled. "The rest of the world fairs better, too, without the riots and public summonings."

"Ah, the riots," Al intoned with an air of nostalgia. "Nothing better than jumping into a situation with absolutely no idea what's going to happen next." He grinned saucily at me. "That's what I love best about you, itchy-witch; you're so damned unpredictable."

Jenks cursed. "That explains _so_ much."

"What?" I questioned.

He hovered in front of me, one blond brow perfectly arched. "Your addiction to the thrill, Rache, your constant need for danger in your job and in your bed: it must be a demon thing."

Al leered at the mention of my bed and met my eyes. "I'd be happy to teach you _everything_ I know, student," he purred.

Rather than shut him down like I usually do when he flirts, I leaned in and put my lips right next to his ear and whispered, "I think I can handle the _hard_ _parts_ myself, thanks, but if I need help, you'll be the first to know."

Al completely froze, he was so shocked. For an instant, it felt like he didn't even breathe. Then, he shuddered a little, and I pulled away, wondering if I'd finally pushed the demon too far. He was being awfully patient lately, but I just couldn't help myself. His lips twitched upward, finally, in amusement, and he rallied.

"Fair enough," he murmured, locking eyes with mine, "but you have _no idea_ what you're missing, dove."

My mind flashed instantly to the warm touch of skin-on-skin, the feel of Al inside my mind, and being pinned in place by those red, goat-slitted eyes. I'd never felt anything as intense, earth-shaking, and comforting all at the same time, and all he did was put his hand on my face. I shivered, and Al smiled knowingly at me.

"Let's stop beating around the bush, shall we? The sun _will_ rise eventually," the demon drawled, hopping back up to rest on my counter. "Give me a peek at that list, love; I know you've got one."

"Fine," I capitulated, and reached into my back pocket to pull out a non-existent list. I made a show of shaking it out and peering at absolutely nothing. "Pasta, tomato sauce, cat food, coffee filters…" I looked at Al. "Oops, wrong list."

His red eyes narrowed at me threateningly. "I make allowances for your youth, student, but do be careful how far you push me." He grinned forebodingly. "I'm fairly certain you won't like the consequences."

How sick was it that the shiver I experienced had nothing to do with revulsion? His voice and his dark promises were addictive, like bitter chocolate. Al tilted his head, scrutinizing me, and I swear he sensed it, because he made a low, involuntary sound in his throat.

I pulled myself together to answer him seriously. "I want to learn the extent of my powers and how to control them. I want to find a way to keep my friends and family safe from the Coven, and anyone else that's willing to use them to get to me. I want to know if there are magical wards that could be set up around the church to keep certain people or certain types of magic out. I know that wouldn't solve the issue completely, but at least the church would be a haven, and Jenks' family would be safe here. I want to stop the Coven before they tell the world that I can kindle demon magic. It's bad enough trying to exist while shunned, with visible demon marks, but if the general public found out about _that_, they'd mob the church and burn it down with all of us inside." I paused to think. "I want to come to some sort of stable agreement with Trent so that he stops trying to either kill me or own me, depending on his menstrual cycle."

Al's laughter was deep and throaty. Looking at our audience, he said, "Told you she wasn't shy about asking for things."


	6. Deals With Devils

1_I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest._

I cocked a hip and stared at him. "Your turn. What do _you_ want?"

His expression grew hard and calculating. "In return for my aid, I want you in the ever-after full-time."

I glared. "No fairy-flipping way, Al."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "All the quicker to teach you control, my dear."

"Living in the ever-after full-time totally defeats the purpose," I said, but then again, Al knew this.

He was a master at his trade, which was precisely this, negotiation. Except for the one time he underestimated me and agreed to let me be his familiar voluntarily, he always came out on top. I'd started to realize that it's because the things he demanded during negotiations weren't necessarily the things he even _wanted_. They were just tools to guide the interaction in the direction he wanted it to go. It was nearly impossible to tell what his real end game was at any given moment. Several millennia of life experience will do that, I suppose. I think the only reason I'd been able to outwit him, even temporarily, was due to Trent's theory that I make decisions on a completely unpredictable basis. Add that to my apparent low premium on personal safety, and even a demon might be confused.

Al scrutinized me right back, red goat-slitted eyes cataloguing everything. I could feel my friends shifting nervously at our stare-off, but they held their peace, clearly deciding it was more dangerous to interfere. Smart. Though, when it came to Pierce, I think his display of reticence had more to do with the presence of Jenks hovering over him ready to perform radical eye surgery with a shard of glass. Not to mention every inch of exposed skin had been pixed.

Finally, knowing that the only way for me to be able to read Al was to get him talking, I prompted, "Define _aid_."

He smirked knowingly at me and obliged. "I will help you attain the goals on your _list_."

"The list that contains stopping the Coven and controlling my powers," I specified, "_not_ the shopping list."

He winked. "Naturally."

"Method?" I challenged.

"Specific methods for specific goals to be negotiated as they come," he replied instantly.

"Agreed," I said. "As to your terms…"

He tilted his head. "I love how you're making such a pretty effort to pin me down when we both know you'll go with your gut in the end, like you always do."

I moved closer and watched him closely, ignoring his comment. It was a classic Al distraction technique, and the best way to stop myself from being led to whatever secret place Al wanted me to go was to stop myself from reacting to his jibes the way he wanted me to. And Tink knows; I'm damn good at being unpredictable. I stretched out my right hand and stopped just short of touching his chest.

Letting my voice grow husky, I murmured, "So, you want me… with you… in the ever-after, all day and _all night_?" I ghosted my hand down his chest, a hair's breadth away from making actual contact. "Would you… _chain me_… in your kitchen?"

Al's eyes flared red and he growled, low and deep, making my entire body tingle. See, this was the bad thing about me acting unpredictably; I usually wound up finding out things about myself that I didn't want to know. Like the fact that apparently an angry, growling demon was a turn-on.

"Careful, my protégée," he warned, voice resonant with power. "First lesson in dealing with demons: don't set yourself on a path that you're not willing to follow to its _messy_ end."

I swore I tasted bitter chocolate on my tongue, and I could feel my hand twitching with the need to make contact. I pulled it away and placed the traitorous appendage behind my back. Al was right; this was worse than playing with fire. I was playing with a freaking nuclear bomb.

"Two days," I said, once I'd gathered myself. "Two 24-hour periods per week in the ever-after."

Al looked at me like I was completely missing the point. "Two months in the ever-after full-time while I train you up, to be renegotiated at the end of that period," he said resolutely. "You will be allowed to visit this side of the lines with supervision, but your place of residence will be with me until you are in control and safe to be around."

Right. This wasn't just about getting through negotiations with Al without giving too much away; this was about something much bigger than that. Namely, that I was a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off. Until I learned control, I was just as much a threat to my friends and family as the Coven.

"And the wards?" I asked.

Al eyed me, probably wondering why I wasn't protesting more. "To be completed immediately."

"What about the Coven?" I continued. "They won't stop hunting me, and if I disappear, they'll just go after my family and friends."

Al smirked. "We'll use their publicity against them to force them to act in compliance with their purported aims. Your friends and family are each well-known in their various circles, and we'll make it clear that if they harm them, every news station in the country will know instantly, and their position will be discredited. Their place of unimpeachable power in your society rests solely on their appearance of impeccable moral standards. " He paused. "Oldest trick in the book; but it works _so_ much better now with modern technology."

"That won't solve the root problem," I pointed out.

Al nodded. "No, but it will buy us time to turn you into a proper little demoness, and come up with a more comprehensive plan."

I cringed at the word "demoness" and Al chuckled at me. I looked to my friends to see what they thought. Deciding how to deal with the demonic aspects of my nature was my choice, but that choice would affect them, too. We weren't just colleagues; we were equal partners and, most importantly, _family_. I valued their opinions, even if I still had to make a choice they didn't like at the end of the day.

Jenks flew up to land on my shoulder, and I smiled at the small show of solidarity. "I don't like this, Rache, any of it. But you're doing the best you can, and I support you."

"What?" Ivy hissed, angrily. "You didn't even like the idea of Rachel leaving the church to hide for a few days, and now you're OK with her _moving_ _to the ever-after_?" Glen placed a calming hand on her arm, but she shrugged him off.

"Ivy," I said helplessly.

She glared at me, looking wounded. "You said you wouldn't leave…" she trailed off, leaving the "me" at the end unspoken. Despite her careful choice of words, I saw Glen's lips tighten. I guessed it couldn't be easy to be with a person knowing that someone else would always come first. This was why he wasn't right for her; he wasn't capable of understanding that. Glen might be my friend, but Ivy was more than that; she was family, home, essential. I was done straddling the line between taking our relationship to different level. I think even Ivy knew, deep down, that we weren't meant to be together in that way. We both have serious issues with love and abandonment, and twisted concepts of what healthy relationships should be like. It took years for me to untangle my complex feelings for her. I knew that Ivy would calm down and realize that this wasn't a rejection of her or our home together. That I loved her and needed her in my life just as much as she needed me. Right now, her vamp instincts were in the driver's seat.

Jenks rose from my shoulder to hover between us and glared at Ivy. "Listen up, missy. Of course I didn't like the idea of Rache running out of here without a plan or safe place to stay, and I hate the idea of not standing face-to-face with our enemies and letting their flesh meet our steel. But that was when I thought she only had the cookie to rely on. Honestly, Ivy, did you somehow miss the fact that Rachel is even more volatile than you right now? Only, if _she_ loses it, she'll take the _whole city_ with her. I love her, but I also love my wife and kids, and if you'd seen her aura earlier, you'd realize how close we came to being dust in the wind." He turned to look at me. "No offense, Rache."

"None taken," I said. I looked at Glen, who glowered a little, and then rested a proprietary hand on Ivy's shoulder. I sighed, message received, although probably not the message _he_ was trying to impart. He wasn't good enough for her. He wasn't willing to do whatever it takes to protect her from herself.

"Would anyone happen to care what I have to say on this travesty before you foolishly sign yourself away?" Pierce whined petulantly from his corner.

"_No!_" Five voices replied in unison.

"If I made his blood boil, just a _little bit_, it probably wouldn't kill him, right?" I asked Al, petulant.

The demon shook his head at me. "With your current temperament, student, you'd probably boil every liquid in a two-mile radius, even _with_ a focusing object." He smirked. "Just think, the sooner you learn control, the sooner you'll be able to play with Gordion Nathaniel Pierce."

I smiled manically.

"Excellent!" Al rubbed his hands together. "So good to know the younger generation still responds to the lure of a dangling carrot."


	7. Eyeballs Deep In Muddy Waters

1_I own nothing save my overactive imagination. Kim Harrison owns the rest._

I relaxed a bit, knowing the rest was really just details. "What about Trent?" I asked.

"You're a demon, dove, just do what comes naturally, and Trenton Aloysius Kalamack will fall in line."

My eyes widened. "Of course!" I exclaimed happily, "That's it!"

Jenks groaned. "Why do I have a feeling I don't want to hear this?"

"That little cookie-maker has been treating me like I'm a demon for years." I grinned secretively. "I'll just give him what he wants and act like one."

Ivy snickered, the light-hearted sound easing some of my tension. "You have enough problems without going after Trent. _Again_."

"Oh, I'm not going after him," I explained. "I'm just preparing for the inevitable event that he comes after _me_. I can't even go a whole week without being stalked by him or one of his lackeys."

"He wasn't the one that tried to kill you with the Pandora Charm," Jenks pointed out. "He wasn't faking his surprise about that."

I nodded. "That's true, but it doesn't mean I can trust him. We're in a holding pattern right now because he feels indebted to me for saving Quen and going to the ever-after with him. Ceri managed to convince him to back off because he thinks that the only reason I made the deal with Al was to rescue him. But, the minute I start actively using my powers on this side of the lines, he'll label me a demon and hunt me. He told me himself that he owes it to his father to keep me in check and stop me if I turn."

"I thought the only reason you made that deal with Al _was_ to save Trent," Ivy said.

I sighed. "Rescuing Trent before he got sold was the reason I was in such a rush, but it's not the reason I went to Al. Or the reason why I made that _specific_ deal."

Al stared suspiciously at me, and I could tell he was mentally running through the conversation we had that day with a fine-toothed comb. Then he laughed, putting the pieces together. "I'm impressed. Even _I_ never realized that you _wanted_ to be my student."

"Why in Tink's contractual hell would you want that?" Jenks demanded.

"Look," I said. "I used to think that the only reason I wound up on demon radar was because of Piscary. While it's true that Piscary's the reason I wound up on _Al's_ radar, he's not the reason why demons in general were noticing me, even way back then." I paused, gathering my thoughts. "Al and I even had a conversation about it, in the middle of one of our fights, when he realized that I was the one responsible for ringing the bell at the town square. He said that the demon world was all abuzz over it."

Al arched a brow. "Well, when it normally takes an _entire coven_ on a Solstice day to raise enough power to ring the bell on both sides of the lines, demons will notice when a single witch does it by accident."

I rolled my eyes.

"Ditto when she suddenly appears in the demon registry for having successfully worked one of _our_ curses to take a human as her familiar," Al pressed on.

"Yes, thank you ever so much Al, for proving my point," I said blandly. "They were already watching me in the ever-after, before I even realized I could kindle their magic. Freaking Newt, for example. The first time I met her, when I bought a ride across the lines, she kept telling me I looked like her sisters. Then, she came over here and possessed me to find out what was so special about me that Minias spelled her to forget. I thought she was looking for the focus, but she was looking for _me _because she had remembered, briefly, that I was kin."

Jenks landed on the counter despondently. "I never really looked at it like that," he admitted. "I just assumed that it was because of Al that other demons started showing up."

"Me too," Ivy said quietly. "I know you keep this part of your life separate for our sake, and trust me, I get that, but we'll worry _less_ if we know where you're coming from."

I nodded. "Fair enough." I glanced at Al. "Would you like to tell it?"

"Oh no," he demurred, "You're a lovely story-teller, and besides I enjoy getting this little glimpse into your thought process."

I eyed him warily. "So you can use it against me later?"

He smirked and let me draw my own conclusions.

"I realized that demons are going to keep popping up in my life and creating chaos unless I tie myself to one and get integrated into their hierarchy. Demons take their knowledge and the act of passing on their skills very seriously, and I know because of the Newt situation that they haven't been successfully breeding for millennia. So I figured I could use the fact that I can kindle demon magic to give me a place in their society that raises me above the level of familiar. Dealing with demons has become a foregone conclusion, but I wanted to try and do it on my terms."

Ivy's eyes cut from me to the demon beside me, taking in his red, goat-slitted eyes, and she shivered. "Why Al? He's been actively trying to kill or enslave you for two years."

I struggled for the best way to explain my reasoning, but it was so instinctual that I couldn't find the words. "Because he's _Al_," I said finally.

Her raised brow illustrated just how impressed she was by that sentiment.

"Is this about you letting him go free that night?" Jenks asked warily.

"_What_?" Ivy demanded, incredulous.

I looked at her. "Rynn Cormel didn't tell you?" I asked. "He was there."

She shook her head. "He just made some vague comment about how he understood the lure, now, and I was right about your ability to take care of yourself."

I sneered. "How very nice and condescending of him. If I hadn't stepped in, Al would've wiped the floor with him."

"You should've seen it, Ivy," Jenks said, his love of battle temporarily overwhelming his disapproval of my choices. "Rynn was _trying_ to fight Al and they were destroying the kitchen. You know how pissy Rache gets when someone messes with the kitchen. So, I pix Al in the face and distract them while she sets a circle. She grabs Rynn, uses his momentum to fling him across the room, and then she circles Al. It was classic: our little Rache corralling two Titans. We should sell tickets, people would pay to see that."

The demon in question growled at the undignified image.

"So," Jenks continued, "Al starts destroying her books, and then they have this weird staring contest. Suddenly, she just lets him go without even banishing him properly." He turned to me. "What was that about?"

I met Al's eyes, as usual having a difficult time articulating the wide mix of emotions he evoked in me at any given moment. "I don't know if it's all the time we've spent at each other's throats, fighting each other off or making deals, looking for any scrap of advantage... We sort of have this connection now. And I knew that he was just as tired, and frustrated, and at the end of his rope as I was." I paused, unable to express what I didn't really understand myself.

"So your solution was to free him and give him another shot at you?" Glen asked, shocked. His face went through a series of expressions as he attempted to categorize this new curve ball.

Jenks snorted. "I hear ya, man. I was _there_, and it still doesn't make sense."

I sighed, and glanced at Ivy. "Kistin told me once that I tend to demand more of people than they're capable of giving. I just... somewhere along the way I realized that what I really wanted from Al was respect. But I wasn't willing to show him respect in return. So I decided to trust him with a temporary truce."

"Gambling that he wouldn't go on a spree and destroy Cincinnati, and then come back to rip your throat out," Glen said, tone accusing, and suddenly I felt like I was on the wrong end of an interrogation.

"Yes," I said simply, still certain that my decision had been the right one, but feeling wary of Glen's authoritarian demeanor.

Jenks hovered in front of Al. "And you went along with it. After two years of this unending bloody war that's ravaged _both_ sides of the lines, and nearly destroyed your lives, you both just decide in the middle of a battle to take a mutual siesta? Quit pissing on my daisies." He was sifting pixy dust everywhere in his agitation.

Everyone looked at Al and I, clearly aligned with Jenks in their disbelief.

"I thought it was perfectly reasonable," Al murmured.

"She had you circled," Jenks said. "She could've called up Minias, who would've sent you directly to jail: do not pass Go, do not collect Rache's soul."

Ivy snickered. "Jail doesn't really seem to stick with Al," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but we would've had at least a week of peace before he got out again," Jenks persisted.

I scoffed. "I wasn't about to call up that pissant to handle my problems when I can handle them myself. What better way to prove myself worthy of respect from Al than to trap him, and then let him go?"

Four faces stared at me blankly, clearly rethinking the idea that an explanation would help them understand my life better.

Al grinned evilly. "An attitude so fantastically demonic I just _had_ to respect it."


End file.
